Bollywood filmmakers' bizarre diktats on sets to avoid leaks

Clamping down on the use of mobile phones during a film shoot is passé. Bollywood filmmakers are coming up with strange new diktats to keep details of their upcoming projects under wraps

Of late, Bollywood has become quite secretive. Filmmakers have been taking a lot of precautions to keep details about their projects under wraps, the general practice being a ban on use of cellphones on the set. Phones are confiscated at the beginning of day's shoot and returned only at the end of filming to ensure that pictures and spoilers do not make it to social media platforms. But now more such diktats are being issued and apply not only to the production unit, but also thelead stars.

Pic/ Pradeep Dhivar

Quite recently, Ashutosh Gowariker instructed the cast and crew of his historical film, Mohenjo Daro, to avoid having their near and dear ones on the set besides prohibiting the use of phones on the set. It said that though the director did not debar lead actor Hrithik Roshan's family from visiting him on the set, the actor decided to abide by the rules on his own.

hitlist takes a look at a few filmmakers who are going all out to ensure that details of their upcoming projects remain a secret...

Ashutosh Gowariker (right) is said to have banned the entry of actors' family members on the set of his Hrithik Roshan-starrer 'Mohenjo Daro'

Call for cautionAditya Chopra is known to be extremely careful about shielding his projects from media glare. Even before he starts working on a film, he apparently makes sure that all security measures are in place so as to avoid any crucial leak. In what now seems to be a standard precaution, this filmmaker has also banned the use of mobile phones on the sets of Shah Rukh Khan-starrer 'Fan'.

A leaked picture of Priyanka Chopra from 'Bajirao Mastani'

Director Sanjay Leela Bhansali apparently barred Priyanka Chopra's mom from visiting her on the set of 'Bajirao Mastani'

Close ones at a distanceIt is no secret that Sanjay Leela Bhansali turns a disciplinarian when his films go on floors. During the filming of 'Ram Leela', he had forbidden the entire unit as well as lead pair Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone from using their cellphones on the set. This came after a few images from the shoot were leaked. This year too, the fiercely-guarded looks of 'Bajirao Mastani' stars — Priyanka Chopra and Ranveer Singh — recently made its way to the online sphere. Along with the existing phone ban, Bhansali has prohibited the actors' family members, including PeeCee's mother, from visiting the set.

Zoya Akhtar (below) beefed up security on the 'Dil Dhadakne Do' set after a clip of one of the film's songs made its way to the e-zone

Zoya Akhtar

Tipping pointAfter mobile phone-shot pictures of a song from Zoya Akhtar's 'Dil Dhadakne Do' were leaked and shared online, the filmmaker was apparently left seething with anger. She apparently conducted a series of inquiries, but could not pin-point the leak on anyone. The film's producer Ritesh Sidhwani immediately beefed up the security and asked the studio team to maintain a register of those entering the studio premises. The makers have also banned cell phones in the editing room to ensure foolproof security.

You are firedSanjay Gupta's Jazbaa, which is being billed as Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's comeback vehicle, went on floors in January this year. A couple of weeks into the shoot, he was forced to ban the use of cell phones on the set after some pictures surfaced on social media revealing the actress' look from the film. What's more, he also fired his security agency following the incident.

Aditya Chopra (below) has stuck to his 'no cellphone on the set' rule for his films, more so for the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer 'Fan', a part of which was shot outside the actor's house in Bandra